Borders of Design: 18th National Exhibition of Children's and Youth Artworks

Where does design end and free artistic creation begin? Does design even have borders? Where do borders start and where do they end? Are they imaginary or verifiable? Are they large or small? Are they generational or individual? Are borders meant to be crossed, intertwined, explored, compared, jumped over, crawled under, transformed, broken through, surprised, to connect (us)? What creative techniques do designers use and how can they be inspiring for educators and children?

These are just some of the questions that the upcoming national exhibition of children's and youth art, which will be, in short, about design, will try to answer. The event is organized by NIK, Artama department and the National Gallery Prague, in conjunction with NPI, the Identita project and the Designers for Children group. More information about the exhibition can be found here: vytvarneprehlidky.cz

We cordially invite you to the opening of the 18th national exhibition of children's and youth artworks, BORDERS OF DESIGN.

Date: May 30, 2026 at 3:00 PM, small hall of the Veletržní palác

Design accompanies us at every step, from morning to evening.

It co-creates our daily lives and can also bring us exceptional experiences. Design in the broad sense of the word means designing. And it concerns not only things, but also services or entire systems. Design is a broad field encompassing human creativity and the human desire to change oneself and one's surroundings for the better, but sometimes unfortunately also for the worse.

— Kateřina Přidalová, Designéři dětem

A remarkable connection under one roof

Art from the National Gallery Prague collections meets the creations of pupils and students led by educators from diverse school and extracurricular environments. Seemingly distant worlds – works by acclaimed artists in exhibitions and works by children or adolescents in this exhibition – can for a time connect and offer a theme: the relationship between teacher and student.

This short-term exhibition offers a glimpse into current trends in art education. It is not just about presenting individual works of students, but about highlighting the overall pedagogical approach of specific teachers. It showcases the opportunities they open up for their students and the processes they guide them through. I personally find inspiration in projects that support authenticity and openness through creative and critical thinking and offer diverse opportunities to explore artistic expression and understand the visual world around us.

— Mgr. Kristýna Říhová, Ph.D.; educator NGP and didactician of art education (UMPRUM), member of the NIK–Artama expert council

What we explored and addressed during the preparatory seminars:

How a book, a poster is created, how fonts, logos and symbols are made. What graphic design is and what rules it has, how a graphic studio works. How to work with new materials in architecture. How to look at traditional materials in a new way, how to work with recycling and upcycling of materials. How to design and make an exhibition, how to present things. How to create a small editorial office with students and design an artistically conceived magazine or a small book, promotional material. How to deal with the basics of animation. How to think better about the contemporary world, how to look at anything around us differently …

— Radomila Vaňková, educator and member of the NIK–Artama expert council

The exhibition does not have the character of a competition

It does not discover "child artists" and does not evaluate individual "pictures." All collections of children's and youth artworks that are in accordance with the regulations, theme, and conditions of the current exhibition are presented as wholes.

Curatorial team and analytical seminar

NIK, ARTAMA unit, appoints a team of curators for each exhibition, composed of art theorists, didacticians, and active artists, who will personally guarantee and evaluate projects that originally expand existing approaches to the art field. Reflection takes place in the form of a public discussion at the analytical seminar at the exhibition. Applications for the analytical seminar can be found here: vytvarneprehlidky.cz

103 projects from all over the Czech Republic applied for the exhibition – art educators of all levels and types of school and extracurricular facilities (nursery schools, primary schools, grammar schools, secondary vocational schools, secondary vocational training centers, higher vocational schools, basic art schools and secondary art schools), leaders of interest groups and clubs, etc.

The exhibition will take place in the Korzo gallery in the Veletržní palác from May 31 to June 26, 2026.